A Vandergrift man accused by state police of uploading a child pornography video onto Snapchat has been ordered to stand trial.
Ashton Ty Baustert, 24, of the 500 block of Emerson Street was charged by state police with distributing child pornography, possession of child pornography and criminal use of a communications facility — all felonies — after investigators received a notification from a national organization that tracks missing and abused children, according to his arrest papers.
Baustert is being detained in the Westmoreland County jail in lieu of $100,000 cash bond, according to court records.
He waived his right to a preliminary hearing before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec on Tuesday and was ordered by the judge to stand trial in Westmoreland County Court.
Baustert faces an Aug. 24 formal arraignment on the charges.
A state trooper began investigating Baustert on Jan. 6 after receiving a notification from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which was alerted to the video after it was uploaded onto his Snapchat account, according to a criminal complaint.
Snapchat provided police with a copy of the video, which shows a man sexually abusing an underage girl, the complaint said.
Police said they got a search warrant and traced the uploaded video to a Comcast account associated with Baustert.
A search warrant also was obtained to search Baustert’s home, where police say they found a cellphone owned by Baustert that contained “multiple files of child pornography,” state police said.
Police said Baustert admitted he uploaded the child pornography to his Snapchat account as well as several other social media platforms, the complaint said.
